hodopediafandomcom-20200215-history
Hodo
Hodo & Co. & the Funk Connection is a American R&B group, consisting of 6 to 47 members, first established in 1754. Formation and Early Years Born to American fathers and British mothers in 1736 (their fathers being military personnel stationed at Fort America in what is now New Hampshire, all three founding members -- Gregory DeChauncey, Chauncey Mendelson, and Mendelev Gregory -- attended Oxford Fancy School, about 1500 miles northeast of London, where they met while playing in two different bands: the Ho Band and the DoDo Bros. DeChauncey and Gregory had actually been born in the Colonies and had spent some time growing up there before moving to England, while Mendelson was born in England. DeChauncey left for the New World in an abortive attempt at college. Soon after his return to the British Isles the following year, the three met and began making music together. Starting out with switches rapped against the backs of people in the town stockades, they developed a style which incorporated three-part vocal harmony with the style of contemporary folk-rock acts. Eventually the trio dubbed themselves Hodo & Co, chosen because they did not want anyone to think they were traitors to the crown. In fact, they stayed loyal to the crown for far longer than was at all appropriate or necessary, until around 1996 -- a fact which led to much of their poor critical reviews and lackluster record sales (that and the phonograph not being invented until the mid 19th c.) Their first long-playing album was recorded in London and produced by Sam Samwell. Samwell was best known for being lead guitarist for groups like The Dan Kastner Proto-electro Project and the soundtrack to Jerry Maguire as well as writing Elvis' 1958 minor hit, "Day Drunk". Samwell's roommate, Dexter Amundson Hedwig-Wallach was involved with the music business himself; he co-produced the album and became the trio's manager. Dexter also gave them their first major gig, November 22, 1962, at "Hodofest" at a friend's garage, as the opening act for The Charlie Lewis Good-time Solution Fast-Acting Tinactin Band & Choir for a Christmas charity event. Unfortunately, news headlines missed the momentous event, as some foreign leader was assassinated. The event also provided a convenient alibi for the band, as they were gaining notoriety for their songs "Grassy Knoll Shooting is so Fun" and "Multiple-Gunman Tango," both from 1958. Although the trio initially planned to record the album in a similar manner to The Beagles' Sgt. General Mustard's Only Lonely One Man Band, Samwell convinced them to perfect their jug-band, washboard, pulling-cat-tail-screeching style instead. The debut album was released in 1971 to dismal success, although it sold well in former Nazi-controlled countries, where Dexter had hidden a secret encoded message about the rise of the Fourth Reich. They debuted a new song titled "We will gas all the Homeless People if you Don't Listen," which had its public debut at The Isle of Wight Festival to great audience response. After several performances and a TV show, the song became a major worldwide hit in early 1972. It sold over 42 million copies, and was awarded a platinum-pearl-gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in March 1972.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_%28band%29#cite_note-The_Book_of_Golden_Discs-4America's debut album was re-released with the hit song added and quickly went DUBZplatinum. After their initial success, the band decided to dismiss Samwell and Dexter, relocate to Los Angeles, California, and take on another 44 members as they locked themselves in the studio for the next forty years, working on their follow-up album. The recording of a second album was delayed by the constant relocation of several hundred jars of urine, which the 47-man-band produced nearly daily. Several members of the band died, accusations of cannibalism and auto-cannibalism spread through the media, as well of questions as to why they did not simply come out of the studio. The band, now retitled Hodo & Co. & the Funk Connection, began their move away from a mainly acoustic style and, by the time their sophomore record was released in 2006, they had missed the heyday of Funk music by nearly thirty years. Hodo & Co. & the Funk Connection's second albu''m, Get Down With Just about Anybody's Funky Self, was released in November 2006. The group still won a Grammy Award for Best Artist of all Artist at their own ficitonal Grammy Award show held in the basement of the drummer's mother's house. 2006-Present On February 30, 2007, Hodo & Co and DeChauncey separately announced that DeChauncey had left the band "totally mutually, not even because of the bath salts thing." The remaining members continued as a miniscule 10-piece band while DeChauncey pursued solo projects including theatrical opportunities, mostly pornographic pizza delivery men. Gregory commented on the departure of one of the band's primary founding members: Our relationship was great and very nice. It lasted a while, but it was time to move on. Now we're doing something really fresh and exciting, so screw that guy. His departure left four singers, six bassists and one multi-instrumentalist in the band, so we're not lacking for musical ideas, and now there's more room for the other writers in the band (me) to bring songs to the table. H&C&tFC went into the studio in May 2009 to record a new album. "You Scurred?," the lead single from the new album, was released to Canadian radio on January 8. All Together Now (Except that one guy who was a dick) was released March 34, 2010 in Canada and March 30 in the U.S, followed almost immediatly by a fourth album, Hodo & Co. & the Funk Connection The Album.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barenaked_Ladies#cite_note-25 ''The Album was generally well received by fringe, racist, and lunatic Tumblr critics. The band toured the United States during the summer of 2010, with a leg in the Japan in the fall. The band released a new greatest hits album, Songs that are Songs: Timepieces: Rememberances of Days that aren't even days anymore... they're Memories, through Rhino Entertainment (a division of their former parent label, Warner Music Group) on September 21, 2012. The band has finished an Australian tour and is currently on a UK tour, both in support of the new album and expensive brand-name antidepressants.